Tag: Dread Pirates Roberts

ANNOUNCEMENT: Since the Silk Road 2.0 bust by the feds a few other Darknet Markets have fallen. The best Darknet Market available is the Agora Marketplace. It has the best reputation and a bigger selection of goods than Silk Road 2.0.

Two former federal agents have recently been charged with the crime of stealing over $800,000 worth of bitcoin from the defunct online black marketplace Silk Road while carrying out their duties. These two were special agents working with the Baltimore Silk Road Task Force, which led the investigations that culminated in the 2013 shutdown of this darknet website, along with the arrest of Ross Ulbricht aka Dread Pirates Roberts, the man who was recently convicted of running Silk Road.

Shaun Bridges, formerly of the US Secret Service is accused of taking $800,000 worth of bitcoins via an account he gained control of during the investigations carried out on this online black marketplace. He is alleged to have transferred the funds to his own personal account while working as a computer forensics expert in the investigation. The DOJ complaint made against him claims that he utilized the special access he obtained by spearheading the arrest of Curtis Green; one the administrator of Silk Road who used the alias “Flush”. The complaint asserts that Bridges or someone who worked in his place used the information on Flush’s account together with another one that wasn’t specified to steal 20,000 bitcoins worth $350,000.

Carl Force formerly of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and who was the lead undercover agent in the investigation is also accused with the same charges. Force was given the responsibility of initiating communications with Dread Pirates Roberts, the Silk Road administrator, but is alleged to have used this privilege for his own personal motives. He is accused of selling DPR information on the ongoing investigation, using the unauthorized alias of “French Maid” for which he was paid $100,000 while at the same time he made use of his authorized alias of “Nob” to get a total 925 bitcoins worth $90,000 paid in two installments in exchange for information. Nob posed as a drug smuggler operating in the US claiming to possess extensive criminal connections across the globe. However, according to Force’s official statement he claimed he did not receive any money from DPR.

He is also accused of investing and also working for an online bitcoin exchange firm, CoinMKT, where he is alleged to have used his clout as a DEA agent to assist this firm to conduct criminal checks on their clients. Which ultimately enabled him to freeze one client’s account, the proceeds from which he transferred to his own personal account. Force is also accused of sending an unlawful DOJ subpoena to an online payment firm containing a request to unfreeze his own personal account.

All in all, according to the DOJ complaint, Shaun Bridges faces charges of fraud and money laundering. Carl Force faces similar charges in addition to stealing government property as well as conflict of interest. The laptop confiscated from Ross Ulbricht and containing evidence that was used against him in his trial, is also said to have evidence that will be used against these two former federal agents. This includes details on chats they had with Silk Road administrator, Dread Pirates Roberts (Ulbricht), along with others that can prove invaluable in their eventual conviction.

ANNOUNCEMENT: Well it has happened! Another Silkroad Darknet Market has spawned after the demise of Silk Road 2.0. The new site is called Silk Road Reloaded and is utilizing different technology than its predecessors therefore a new guide for Silk Road Reloaded will be coming soon. In the meantime Agora Marketplace is still alive and kicking bigger than ever with more listings than Silkroad 2.0.

Trial of alleged operator of Silk Road anonymous marketplace starts and it will be an unprecedented trial. Accused person is the one who created an online marketplace that offers unlawful items. After many months of delays, Silkroad trial got underway in Manhattan.

This case is being called first of its kind and a very significant case. Two reasons why this case is so unprecedented are that the government has never before used money laundering to include digital currency. Also, never before have charges been levelled against a web host for creating a website. Most people think that web hosts enjoy protection from the communication act.

Prosecutors may not find it easy to prosecute the operator because they will have to prove that he (Ross Ulbricht) is actually Dread Pirates Roberts who created and owned an online black market site called Silkroad that was taken down by Feds in 2013.

Ulbricht faces charges that include money laundering and hacking as well as trafficking of narcotics. He pleaded he is not guilty of these charges and he has also consistently denied that he is in fact Dread Pirates Roberts.When the trial got going, strong statements were issued by both defense and prosecution. Ulbricht’s defense lawyer however had to concede that Ulbricht actually founded the Silk Road but that he had given up control once he was arrested in 2013.

Prosecutors claimed that Ross had been caught in the act of running the Silk Road. They seemed determined on showing that the Silk Road was hell-bent on staying anonymous and that it could only be accessed in a special way that hid users’ IP addresses.

What’s more, since Silkroad was accepting digital currency like Bitcoin, government also expanded the act of money laundering to include digital currency.

Ulbricht’s lawyer had argued that bitcoin is not real money but Judge Forrest threw this argument out saying that bitcoins are valuable and they are a medium of exchange.

Disclaimer

This website is just a blog that delivers the latest news on the Silk Road and it's latest versions of the Darknet Markets with the same name. We are in no way connected with these or any other Darknet Marketplaces. The information here is just intended for informational use and is not meant to be used for advice in any way. We do not endorse the use of illegal drugs and do not encourage any illegal activities in any way.